Lawyers urged Sydney man to reconsider leaving most of $30m estate to GP after police raid, court hears

A wealthy Sydney man who left his estate to his GP was urged to reconsider after the solicitor responsible for authorising the will had his office raided by police, a court has heard.

Raymond McClure, who died aged 84 in 2017, had altered his will twice in the five months before he died to leave his GP, Dr Peter Alexakis, 90% of his estate worth more than $30m.

The will is also subject to multiple cross-claims. Alexakis says he had no knowledge McClure included him in the will and he never discussed the extent of the estate with his patient.

On Wednesday, solicitors from the legal firm that prepared the final will, Peter Skouteris and Angelo Andresakis, gave evidence.

Skouteris told the court the letter was written not because of any concern with the conduct of Alexakis, but because of the police investigation.

He said police had never raided his offices in relation to an investigation into the preparation of a will in the more than 25 years he had worked at the firm.

McClure died less than six weeks after the letter was sent. The final will was not revised.

Andresakis told the court that while Alexakis had introduced him to McClure, and arranged further meetings between the pair, Alexakis had never told him that he expected to be a beneficiary of the will.

He said on the four occasions he met McClure he appeared mentally sound and at times expressed fondness for Alexakis.

Andresakis said McClure also made multiple mentions on their first meeting, while McClure was in hospital, that he wished to alter his will to exclude the Salvation Army because of concerns he had regarding the history of child sexual abuse within the organisation.

Although McClure had been severely unwell at the time, Andresakis said the only sign he was ill was his swollen legs.

Andresakis believed McClure was well aware how much of his estate he was leaving to Alexakis, he told the court, despite initial drafts of the revised will only including 10% of the estate for the doctor. He also did not feel the need to read the will to McClure to ensure he understood its contents, despite McClure having cataracts which meant he used a magnifying glass with a light attached to read.

Andresakis said that to the contrary, it was clear McClure had a firm understanding of how he wanted his estate divided, even including provisions for who was to receive his porcelain Hummel figurines, and separate instructions for the glass cabinets they were contained in.

The court has previously heard that Alexakis denied striking a deal with McClure to keep him out of hospital in return for provision in his will.

He said he introduced Andresakis to McClure after his patient told him he wanted to get his affairs in order. The hearing before Justice Trish Henry continues.